Automatic coin dispensing machine

ABSTRACT

An automatic coin dispensing machine has a coin stacking device incorporating a tubular sleeve which is of quickly-variable diameter to adapt it to different sizes of coin. To this end it is made up of side-by-side overlapping sections which can be contracted together or opened apart by simple mechanical means. A similar system may be applied to a wrapping tube in the machine.

United States Patent Frahm 1 Mar. 26, 1974 [54] AUTOMATIC COIN DISPENSING MACHINE 3.664.213 5/1972 Anati 81/128 X I 3,476,125 11/1969 lsamu Uchida et a1. 133/1 R [75] lnvemor- Bern, 2,635,402 4/1953 Jorgensen 53/212 Germany [73] Assignee: NGZ Geldzahlmaschinen-Ges. mbH Primary am n rTra iS S. MCGehee & Co., Berlin, Germany Assistant ExaminerJohn Sipos An ,A t, F --K th S.G ldf [22] Filed: July 21, 1972 orney gen 0r zrm enne o arb [21] Appl. No.: 273,862 [57] ABSTRACT [30 ForQiriKfibiicBiibriPriority fiata m" An automatic coin dispensing machine has a coin Aug 6, 1971 Germany 21364990 stacking device incorporating a tubular sleeve which is Aug. 23, 1971 Germany ..21421896 of quickly-variable diameter to adapt it to different sizes of coin. To this end it is made up of side-by-side [52] US. Cl. 53/212 Overlapping Sections which can be contracted together [51] Int. Cl B65b 11/04 or Opened apart by simple mechanical means. A simi- [58] Field of Search 53/211, 212; 133/1 R, 8; 1 System may be applied to a Wrapping tube in the 81/128; 220/8 machine [56] References Cited 8 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,884,826 5/1959 Bruhn 81/128 I j; (Q1 1 38 ll I T 6 3 lllllllll/l PATENTEDHARZS m4 351798.873

SHEU 1 UF 5 ll U n II IIIII/I PATENTEUMARZS I974 SHEET 3 [IF 5 PATENTED MAR 26 I874 SHEET t UP 5 PATENTEDHARZB I974,

SHEET 5 [1F 5 AUTOMATIC COIN DISPENSING MACHINE This invention relates to automatic coin dispensing machines comprising a stacking device incorporating a tubular sleeve for aligning coins deposited in said device.

Stacking devices for automatic coin dispensing machines at present require a special coin sleeve for each different diameter of coin. When one size of coin is changed to another, the sleeve has to be replaced and this is a time-consuming operation.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a stacking device for automatic coin dispensing machines which can be adapted to coins of different diameter in simple fashion.

To this end, in accordance with the invention the sleeve is made up of component side-by-side sleeve sections which are at least partially radially-adjustable to vary the diameter of the sleeve.

In a preferred form the sleeve sections are of resilient strip form, overlap one another in the peripheral direction of the sleeve, and each has a bevelled leading edge bearing against the surface of the next overlapped section.

In accordance with a further feature the machine comprises means for wrapping a stack of coins therein, this wrapping means comprising a vertical tube with an entrance slot along the periphery,means for feeding sheet material edgewise through said slot into the interior of the tube, a knife adjacent said slot for severing sheet material fed through the slot, and a coin stack support plate rotatable within said tube at a rate at least equal to that of the speed at which sheet material is fed into the tube.

Further objects and features of the invention are disclosed herinafter in this specification and the claims appendant thereto.

Embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective illustration of a stacking device in accordance with the invention,

FIG. 2 is a cross section through this stacking device taken on the line II II of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is an illustration of the principle of a wrapping device in accordance with the invention, this being taken on the section line III III of FIG. 4,

FIG. 4 is a vertical section through the parts illustrated in FIG. 3, this on the line IV IV of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment of the wrapping device.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 1 is related to a coin dispensing machine which includes a shaker device for deposited coins, not here illustrated.

The stacking device itself comprises a number in the present case eight of component strips 18 of circular arcuate form which are uniformly distributed side-by-side in a ring to form the coin sleeve of the device enclosing the coins to be stacked. Each of the strips 18 partially overlaps the next and to prevent falling coins hooking on to the overlapping parts of strips 18 the free ends of these parts are bevelled at 2 in knife edge fashion to provide an almost uniform transition from the curvature of one strip to the next following overlapped strip.

Each strip 18 is secured to the upper end 31 of the outer flange 29 of a holder 6, the accurate location thereof being assured by an inner flange 30, the edge 32 of the strip 18 concerned abutting the free edge of the inner flange 30. Both flanges 29, 30 are integral with outer and inner limbs 26, 27 of a clip around the holder plate 3 and are held together by outer and inner springy angular sections 34, 35 of the clip. A compression spring 37 located in a recess in the vicinity of the outer longitudinal edge 33 on the holder 6 makes this holder readily resilient. This outward spring bias is limited by an inwardly-directed stay 28 on the outer flange 29.

There are two superimposed blade holders 6 mounted on the retaining plate 3 for each strip 18, as shown in the illustration of FIG. 1, and these are adjustable heightwise by means of setscrews 20 through the agency of an upper setting plate 17 and a lower such plate 19.

Upper and lower mounting plates 22 are provided at the ends of the holder plate 3, and these have guide grooves 23 of wedge section in number corresponding to the holder plates 3. Mounted in these grooves are ball bearings 24 which are also disposed in corresponding wedge-shaped guide grooves 25 in the upper and lower edges of holder plate 23, thereby providing for a ball-assisted easy movement of the plates 3.

A radial setting device 10 is provided below the bottom mounting plate 22, this comprising a setting plate 21 which is rotatably adjustable about the axis of the stacking device and has at its upper side a groove 12 of rectangular cross section which runs spirally in relation to the aforesaid axis. Each setting plate 19 has a flange 8 with a longitudinal slot 9, through which passes a pintle 14 carrying a follower roller 15 which runs in groove 12. The position of pintle 14 along slot 9 is set by means of a nut 16.

The apparatus described operates as follows:-

The setting plate 21 is rotated in the counter clockwise direction to bring the strips 18 into a position in which they define a circle of a diameter which is greater than that of the coins to be stacked. These coins are then charged in the required number into the hollow space thereby provided.

The setting plate 21 is now turned in the clockwise direction so as to produce a common setting of the holder plates. As a result the strips 18 are moved until they abut against the coins and these are joggled into a neat and accurate pile and in the end there is a closefitting sleeve around the pile made up of the component strips 18. Strips 18 being of a springy nature, the bevelled ends of the blades will adapt themselves without play on the neighbouring strips to compensate manufacturing tolerances to form the closed hollow cylinder.

By virtue of their holders 6 the blades 18 are resiliently mounted on the respective blade holder plates 3 thereby to compensate for other manufacturing tolerances and diameter variations in the coins, the compression springs 37 applying the holders 6 and thus the strips 18 resiliently against the peripheries of the coins. This resilient mounting of the holder 6 has the further advantage that some coins which might differ only slightly from one another in diameter can be stacked with the rollers 15 in the same abutment positions in the spiral groove of plate 21.

The means for wrapping the stacked coins will now be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5 of the drawings.

The cylindrical object 41 which is to be wrapped e.g. a number of superimposed aligned coins 52, is disposed on a horizontal carrier plate 53 mounted at the upper end of a spindle 49 which is rotatable by driving means (not shown).

Disposed around plate 53 is a cylindrical tube 44 of dimensions such that there is a certain uniform clearance 42 between the inner surface 54 of tube 44 and the outer surface 55 of the stack 41. There is also a clearance in the heightwise direction. A sheet 46 of wrapping material is introduced by sheet feed means (not shown) through a slot 43 in tube 44 parallel to the rotary axis 56, and this sheet is carried around by surface friction against the rotating stack 41 and moved through the annular space 57 between the outer surface of the stack 41 and the inner surface 54 of tube 44 until the sheet is completely wound around the stack once, or two or more times.

A cutting device 51 with a blade 50 is arranged adjacent the entrance of sheet 46 into slot 43, and when the sheet 46 has been sufficiently stiffened because of the tension effect on the latter as a result of its rotation, it is forcibly applied against cutting edge 50 and thereby severed. It can therefore be arranged that the severance will take place when an appropriate quantity of sheet material has been enwrapped in the device and it has as a result been presented at the right angle to the cutting edge 50. Any trailing part of the sheet will be drawn into the interior of the sleeve 41 and will form part of the final wrapping. The two ends of the wrapping will then be followed inwards and pressed firm in known fashion.

The loop angle used in wrapping the object, which must be at least 360 but may be even greater if say a double wrapping is required, is dependent on the clearance between the inner surface 54 of tube 44 and the outer surface 55 of the object to be wrapped.

In the arrangement illustrated in FIG. 5, instead of using a cylindrical tube 44 which has an axiallyextending slot, use is made of a number of radially adjustable blades 58 which enclose the object as in sleeve fashion but are such as to enable the radial setting of the surrounding gap to be modified. This radial adjustment can be performed in the manner described above in relation to the stacking device.

This embodiment is of particular advantage in a wrapping operation because the gap 42 is infinitely adjustable by radial movement of blades 58. This infinite adjustability is of particular advantage because during the winding operation itself it is possible to adjust the width required for the wrapping so that the optimum gap can be finally adjusted without lengthy testing and the required loop angle therefrom quickly arrived at. In the prior art devices not only must there be a large number of tubes available of different graded sizes, but a toublesome multiple changing of these tubes is necessary in practice, all of which is dispensed with in the infinite fine adjustment now made possible.

This embodiment has the further advantage that it is not necessary to provide a special slot for the introduction of the sheet into the annular space 57. With the inherent stiffness of the sheet, it can be pushed between the bevelled edge of any one of the blades and the next adjacent blade against which this edge bears and carried round to be applied against the stack 41 and the inner surfaces of the individual blades 58.

If the weight of stack 41 is insufficient in the embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4 to provide sufficient frictional effect between the carrier plate 53 and the abutment surface of the stack to properly turn the latter and apply an acceleration thereto, it may be advantageous to mount at the upper side a similar plate 53' acting as a pressure plate, which is readily rotatable about a spindle 49. This plate can be firmly pressed against the object 41 from above by means (not shown) to appropriately increase the friction between carrier plate 53 and the lower surface of the object.

If it is desired to obtain a particularly high angular acceleration of the stack or object 41, starting from zero speed, it may be advantageous to drive both spindles 49 and 49 from a common drive, the pressure plate 53' being applied by downward spring pressure against the stack or object 41.

I claim:

1. An automatic coin dispensing machine comprising a stacking device incorporating a tubular sleeve for aligning coins deposited in said device, in which said sleeve is made up of component side-by-side sleeve sections which are at least partially radially-adjustable to vary the diameter of the sleeve, said sleeve sections being of resilient strip form, said sleeve sections overlapping one another in the peripheral direction of said sleeve, said sleeve sections each having a bevelled leading edge bearing against the surface of the next overlapped section.

2. A machine according to claim 1, in which the stacking device includes means for adjusting said sleeve sections comprising, for each said section, a holder plate, resilient devices on said plate for clamping a margin of the section concerned, and a follower depending from said plate and running in a spiral groove in a setting plate for varying the radial disposition of the section.

3. A machine according to claim-2, in which the holder is adjustable on ball races in V-grooves between the upper and lower ends of the plate and upper and lower mounting plates respectively in the stacking device, and the follower is a roller carried by a pintle depending from a flange on said plate.

4. A machine according to claim 1, further comprising means for wrapping a stack of coins therein, this wrapping means comprising a vertical tube with an entrance slot along the periphery means for feeding sheet material edgewise through said slot into the interior of the tube, a knife adjacent said slot for severing sheet material fed through the slot, and a coin stack support plate rotatable within said tube at a rate at least equal to that of the speed at which sheet material is fed into the tube.

5. A machine according to claim 4, in which the tube is rotatable in an opposite sense to the rotation of the stack support plate.

6. A machine according to claim 4, in which the tube is made up of a plurality of radially-adjustable blades.

7. A machine according to claim 4, in which a pressure plate is applied downwards resiliently against the upper end of the stack.

8. A machine according to claim 7, in which the pressure plate and support plate are rotatable from a common drive.

t t t t 

1. An automatic coin dispensing machine comprising a stacking device incorporating a tubular sleeve for aligning coins deposited in said device, in which said sleeve is made up of component side-by-side sleeve sections which are at least partially radially-adjustable to vary the diameter of the sleeve, said sleeve sections being of resilient strip form, said sleeve sections overlapping one another in the peripheral direction of said sleeve, said sleeve sections each having a bevelled leading edge bearing against the surface of the next overlapped section.
 2. A machine according to claim 1, in which the stacking device includes means for adjusting said sleeve sections comprising, for each said section, a holder plate, resilient devices on said plate for clamping a margin of the section concerned, and a follower depending from said plate and running in a spiral groove in a setting plate for varying the radial disposition of the section.
 3. A machine according to claim 2, in which the holder is adjustable on ball races in V-grooves between the upper and lower ends of the plate and upper and lower mounting plates respectively in the stacking device, and the follower is a roller carried by a pintle depending from a flange on said plate.
 4. A machine according to claim 1, further comprising means for wrapping a stack of coins therein, this wrapping means comprising a vertical tube with an entrance slot along the periphery means for feeding sheet material edgewise through said slot into the interior of the tube, a knife adjacent said slot for severing sheet material fed through the slot, and a coin stack support plate rotatable within said tube at a rate at least equal to that of the speed at which sheet material is fed into the tube.
 5. A machine according to claim 4, in which the tube is rotatable in an opposite sense to the rotation of the stack support plate.
 6. A machine according to claim 4, in which the tube is made up of a plurality of radially-adjustable blades.
 7. A machine according to claim 4, in which a pressure plate is applied downwards resiliently against the upper end of the stack.
 8. A machine according to claim 7, in which the pressure plate and support plate are rotatable from a common drive. 